I'm just a tom boy
by silent mockery
Summary: Tai's girlfriend cheats on him. Sora helps him plan a revenge, where she pretends to be his girlfriend. Things get a little complicated.
1. prologue

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*I'M JUST A TOM BOY (A boy's best friend)*

This is the same old shit everyone is sort of required to write. Yup, you guessed it. My plot, my story, but NOT my characters. Please enjoy, and if you don' t, I don't blame you cuz' I think it sucks too.

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PROLOGUE…If a dog is a _man's_ best friend, then a _boy's _best friend is...

I was sitting at my desk at home, doing homework. How pathetic. My brain was blank, my hand was cramping worse than a….well it was painful anyway, and I was on the same problem I had been on for hours. I won't explain the difficult mathematical equation to you , but I had tried and tried to uncover its mysterious solution for far too long. Slowly I leaned back in my chair and tilted my head up to the ceiling with my eyes closed in thought. I felt my mind and body relax and opened my eyes once again to see….a face?

"What the fu-" I screamed, and was cut off when my chair flipped over backwards. I had seen the blurred image of a face smiling down on me, and was caught off my guard. "Mom, is that-…er…" my head was spinning, but I could tell the image was _not _my mother.

"Sora, you loser, I'm not your mom." The figure bent down and gently pulled me up to my feet. 

I gazed at the strange figure a while longer before I recognized the chocolate brown hair and slim physique. "Tai?" I squinted and reached out a hand to stabilize myself. "What the hell are you doing in my room?"

He smirked and pushed me onto my chair before he sat on the mess of sheets I like to call my "bed". "Your mom let me in. I just came in here to see if you were busy, or not." He glanced at the papers on my desk and smirked again. "Seems like you are though. Can't get past the first problem either?"

"Nope. Did you?"

"Heck no, are you kidding? I suck at that stuff." My friend ran a hand through his bangs and looked back at me. Tai was my best friend, who I had known since….forever. He had a mess of wild brown hair that could not be tamed, and light brown eyes that any girl could get lost in. I, of course, did not see him as an attractive boy, but rather a buddy whom I could play soccer with and converse with about weird things. He spoke in a hopeful tone, "Are you gonna keep pluggin away at the books, or is there any hope you might come out and play a little soccer with me?"

Play soccer, or study. Play soccer or-"Awww, with that smile, who could resist?" I smiled and rolled my eyes. "Just give me another sec on this problem, and we'll go. Okay?" 

"Okay."

I turned my chair and leaned over the numbers before me. Who was I kidding? There was no way I would figure out this shit anytime soon. "Ah, I'll get back to this later. Let's ditch this funk." I said and pushed my chair away from the desk to stand up. In second I had grabbed my ball, a pair of old socks, my soccer shoes, and we were out the door laughing.

At the field, Tai and I practiced for a while, like we usually do, dribbling, shooting, and juggling the ball in between corny jokes and wrestling matches (between him and me, of course). I was, "as usual" beating him at everything, and he was showing off his "skills" whenever a "cute" girl walked by. As soon as he got a decent crowd of females watching him, he got the idea of asking a few other guys to play with us. There was a short "flirting" session for Tai before the girls left, and by the time that happened, he had picked up ten different numbers and was boasting his ability to "pick up chicks" (as usual).

"You are such a freakin' pig, Tai. You know you'll never call any of those girls back. You're a dick, and you _already_ _have_ a girlfriend."

He smiled. "Yeah, but she's cheating on me anyway and we both know it."

I frowned and cocked my eyebrow in confusion. I had a feeling that there was another reason for why Tai was in my room this afternoon. "That's nothing to laugh about, you freak. I never knew she was cheating on you. Why didn't you tell me?"

He bent his head down in way that made me regret my thoughtless remark and looked at the ground, "I don't know," He no longer wore a shirt and wiped his toned chest with a sigh as spoke again, "which reminds me, Sora. I have to ask you about something important."

For the next fifteen minutes Tai explained to me the _real_ reason for his odd visit to my room. I just knew there was _another_ reason. His girlfriend, Valerie Nip, was cheating on him with another soccer player, who had been on the school team with Tai this year. His name was Bryce, and I remembered him vaguely from the championship game Tai played at the end of the season. Basically all I could remember was that he had black hair, green eyes, was supposedly good looking, and had a golden foot for shooting although not a great soccer player in general. Tai was naturally angry, as any boyfriend being cheated by his girlfriend would be, and wanted my help to get revenge on the two people who had ruined his junior year (in high school). 

"I don't know, Tai," I said with uncertainty, "I'm not exactly the best person to ask about how to get revenge." I hoped he would understand and move on from that slut of a girlfriend without involving me.

My hopes went down the toilet the very next second, "Sora, you gotta help!" He pleaded. "You're the only person, who would possibly be willing to help me and you're pretty smart too."

"Thanks, Tai. I love you too."

He chuckled. "What I mean is that, you're smarter than me, which doesn't say much, but I need your brain power to pull-off this great plan I made." He bit his bottom lip and stared at me with those lovely brown eyes. "Pleeeeaase?" He begged.

"Depends," I said sternly and folded my arms in front of my chest. "What exactly do you want me to do?"

"Oh nothing much." He said looking back at the grass. "So will you help me?"

"I don't know, Tai, I-"

"Pleeaase? I'll help you with you're math grades if you do."

"What?!" I said flailing my arms about. "I thought you said you sucked at that kind of stuff!"

"Well that's what I thought at first," He chuckled with a blush, "But it turns out that the only reason I got bad grades before was because I never did the homework and always fell asleep in class. I'm actually pretty smart when I take the initiative to listen and come to take the tests and quizzes. I even managed to pull an A minus for first semester."

I stared in shock and finally regained consciousness. "Well, Tai-" he gave me another "sad puppy eye" look and pouted his slender lips. My heart sunk at the sight of his sad brown eyes and hopeful expression. "Oh, …..I…fine." I huffed. "I'll help you." I sighed and he smiled with a look of satisfaction. I knew it would cost me, but I had to help a friend in need.

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Thanks for reading. Sorry, if it was too painful of a struggle, but hey! You got through it and that's pretty good! Leave, or read the next chapter. Your choice, so do what you like. 


	2. Would you be my girlfriend?…I’ll use ya ...

***TOM BOY (A boy's best friend)***

This is the same old shit everyone is sort of required to write. Yup, you guessed it. My plot, my story, but NOT my characters. Please enjoy, and if you don' t, I don't blame you cuz' I think it sucks too.

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CH 1: Would you be my girlfriend?….I'll use ya good…

The next day was a Monday, and I had to go to school. Tai convinced the math teacher that he could be my tutor and Mr.Tell (math teacher) convinced him that I desperately needed to start as soon as school was out. "No problem." Tai said cheerfully, and the next thing I knew, we were both at his house doing math equations.

In his room, we sat on the plush carpet floor, papers spread about us. If I had trouble with a problem, Tai would lean over my shoulder and explain it to me with a patience I never saw before. I cringed at the thought of Tai being secretly smarter than me and wondered why he was being so nice. Wait, I thought, maybe he was… "Tai?"

"Yeah, Sora? Need any help?" He was laying on the floor, pencil in between his teeth, and looking up at the ceiling. He turned to look at me, and gave me a smile that any one else, but I, would have believed to be sincere.

"No." I said and put my pencil in my mouth like a cigarette, as he was. "I just know that there's something terrible you're going to ask of me. So….just go ahead and ask it. Might as well."

He sighed. "Okay you got me." He sat up, tan legs now crossed like an Indian, "Sora, you know I love helping you in math and everything, but I can't help remembering that we had an agreement the other day. You know, concerning my….revenge?" 

"Yeah, so?" I asked.

"Well, since we're on the last problem of your homework, do you think we could talk about my plan for a while?"

I sighed, put my pencil down, and turned to face him in the same manner. "Sure." He smiled. "But," I interrupted before he could speak, "I have a few questions first, that I want to ask **you **concerning 'the plan'."

"Fire away."

I chewed on my pencil a bit, and I spoke, "Okay," I said, "So, the plan which you discussed with me the other day, was for _you _to get _another_ girlfriend, to make _Valerie_ jealous. Am I right?"

"Yeah." he said and gave me a quizzical look. "So what's the question?"

"Well, the plan's not a problem, Tai, except…" I thought for a moment and inched toward him to speak. "Exactly where do you plan to _find _this 'girl friend?'" I smirked at him, and shook my head at his ignorance. "Tai, as you and I both know, Valerie is the most beautiful, popular cheerleader at school. No girl could make _her_ jealous."

"On the contrary, Sora." He said deviously to my surprise. "I know someone who can."

This comment perplexed me. "Who?" I asked in confusion. "Is it someone _I _know? Is it someone we _both _know?"

"Yes." He said, "As a matter of fact, we both know her _very _well." He said this and looked at me with a grin. His smile sent chills up my spine and made me wonder exactly what he was up to.

Tai slid next to me, and gently cupped my face to look at him. His soft complexion was only a few inches from my face, and the proximity was making me nervous. "Well," he said "I was thinking maybe…" with one hand he let go of my cheek, and it gracefully glided down to grab my hand. He brought it up to my face and arranged my fingers so that my pointer finger pointed at me. "Sora," he said smirking, "would _you_ be my girlfriend?"

"What!?" I shouted and kicked him off of me. The blood was rushing to my face in fury and surprise as I stood up and glared at him. "You think _I'm_ gonna agree to be _your_ little pansy girlfriend?"

"Well…yeah!" He laughed and scratched the back of his head. I was more surprised than angry, but managed to get myself under control so I could stop and think. Why would _I_,of all people, be the perfect girl to do the job? I was hardly even a girl in my opinion. Never hung out with very many of them, didn't wear dresses unless I was forced to, and didn't really act like a girl at all. I looked down at Tai, and he looked up at me with a scared and unsure expression. Was this his idea of some kind of joke?

"Very funny, Tai." I said crossing my arms in front of my chest. "You really had me believing you that time. I thought for a second there, that you were actually serious."

"I am serious, Sora." He stood up to look me in the eye. "I never meant it as a joke."

Great, I thought, this is even worse than I imagined. "Tai, how is that going to work? You think she's gonna be jealous if you start going out with your best friend? I think it's a worthless plan." My arms were still crossed and I felt the last of my anger escape me.

"Well, I don't think it's a worthless plan at all."

"And why not?"

"Well," He began, "More than anything, when I was dating Val, she loved to be the one in control. She never liked it when I went to play soccer with you and wanted all the attention for herself, you know?" He placed a hand on my shoulder. "Now if I date a sporty tom boy like you, she's bound to go absolutely crazy from the degradation. She thinks your inferior to her, so she'll just die when she thinks that I've chosen _you _over _her_."

"Oh ho!" I said smiling, "Is that what she thinks of me? An inferior, huh?"

"Ever since she and I started dating."

I took his hand off my shoulder and shook it. "Well, then, Tai. I'm for anything that will torture her little bitch ass."

"Great." He said smiling back, "We'll start the training right after you finish that math problem."

"Hold up. Training?" I asked perplexed once again.

"Yeah. You know, training to be my girlfriend. You gotta look the part, Sora, or no one's gonna buy it, tomorrow."

"Hold up. Tomorrow?!" It seemed the effort I'd be contributing to this revenge was more than I imagined at first. Training….and all by tomorrow? What the hell does he expect me to do? Wear a cheerleading uniform while I do back flips and scream, "Go Tai!" ? I'll drop dead before that happens. "What exactly are you training me to do?" I asked a little agitated.

"You'll find out." He said with a grin. "Just finish the problem and I'll show you."

In ten, fifteen, or twenty minutes, I had finished the equation and was waiting for the training to begin. Tai asked me if I had any dresses at home and I told him that he could "kiss my toe" cause there's no way I'd be caught dead in one of those rags at school. "Well then," he said. "I guess what you usually wear to school is okay." Okay? I was forced to give him a slap on the back of his head for that comment, before I let him continue. After what seemed like hours, I had learned what to do in all situations when Val or Bryce walked by. Whether it was to hold Tai's hand, feign a expression of love when he talked to me, or accept an occasional kiss on the cheek, nothing was anywhere close to what I had seen Tai and Val do before. Everything was planned out for tomorrow, and I was ready show "little Miss. Superior" what "inferiors" like me do when they're pissed.

Tueday, the day we began the operation, came sooner than I thought it would. Before I knew it, I was walking down the street with Tai, talking about the plan as we made our way to school a few blocks away from where we lived. He was wearing a red soccer jersey for the England National Soccer team, and a pair of denim jeans to match. I was wearing a black volcom shirt and a pair of denim shorts, just cruising down the sidewalk with my auburn locks spiking up in the back as usual. We made it to school on time and walked into homeroom five minutes before the late bell rang.

"So," Tai said, as soon as we got in our seats. "After homeroom, remember what to do when you see her coming, okay?"

"Act normal and crap for now, right?" I kept looking at the teacher to see if he'd notice, but he just continued reading the daily bulletin as he sipped his coffee.

"Yeah, and don't forget to NOT to punch her out even when she glares at you, okay?" He seemed a little unsure that I would go through with his plan.

"Don't worry about it, Tai. Ignoring slutty bitches is one thing I can do well." He smirked and made a stupid thumbs up sign that I ignored before we both took out our headphones and cd players to pass the time. 

Approximately ten minutes had passed and we were finally let out of homeroom to go to first period English. I walked next to Tai as we made our way through the hustle and bustle of high school students, keeping a sharp eye out for Val. As soon as I spotted the silky blond locks, ice blue eyes, and full cherry lips, I knew it was her and nudged Tai's shoulder to let him know the "vicitim" was approaching.

Val looked gorgeous as usual, and as revealing as ever. Her blond tresses were pulled up neatly into a ponytail with a few wisps of golden hair framing her heart-shaped face. She wore a red tube top to match her pouting red lips, a black mini skirt to show off her luscious thighs, and pair of black pumps to match the skirt she wore. She noticed Tai immediately and sauntered over, no doubt, to give him the "surprising" news about her "new found love" .

"Slut at ten o' clock" I whispered to Tai. He glanced to the left for a second and walked a little slower. 

"Taichi-kins," She said when she finally reached us, "Why didn't you notice me over there? I was waving to get your attention." She pulled a wisp of hair behind her delicate ear and made a frustrated look with her lips pressed together. I looked on in complete digust.

"Well," he said unsmiling, "I guess you're just not that noticeable."

For a minute she paused and thought over what he had just said. "Hmmm..yeah, whatever, Taichi-kins. Um…" She looked over me in disgust. "Can I talk to you in private for a moment?"

"No. I'm on my way to English. If I stop and talk to you, I'll be late." He looked at me and I rolled my eyes. What a bimbo.

"Oh right, Taichi-kins, I'll talk to you at lunch then, okay?" She leaned forward and gave him a kiss on the cheek which he wiped off as soon as we started walking again.

"She is such a typical dumb ass." I said and he looked at me and nodded.

"She even comes with blonde hair." 

As soon as lunch came around, we were prepared with a memorized script and everything for her. It was macaroni and cheese day again, so Tai and I were in line when she came in with her "whore-click" through the cafeteria doors. The heads of most jocks turned and whistled, one, who I recognized as Bryce, Val's "mistress", if you will, was whistling the loudest. "Dick." I thought and smiled at the slightly overweight cafeteria lady piling mac and cheese in a bowl for me. Boy, do I love mac and cheese.

"Would you like French bread with that, or not?" The cafeteria lady asked.

"Yes ple-" I was rudely interrupted when someone shoving me from behind. "Who the-"

"Valerie." Tai said in surprise. Of course. What other slut would be so hateful of "inferiors" that she'd feel it necessary to shove them this way and that? I glared at her in contempt and tried to concentrate on the bowl being placed on my tray. As soon as the aroma of cheddar cheese entered my nose, I was at ease.

"Taichi," she said in her sugary voice, "I need to talk to you now, if you don't mind." Her click was behind her, giggling and fawning over my best friend. He felt the silver chain dog tag necklace he always wore, and looked at me for my permission. I nodded. 

"Sure." Tai said, and he left with his tray of food. Val and her gang followed close behind.

"Hey, can you guys wait for me at our table? I'll only be like, a second." she said and I watched as her and Tai moved to a table in back of the cafeteria.

While I sat at a table close to some of the other female soccer players, I ate and watched Tai from across the room. He was leaning against a wall, listening to Val as she paced around talking and fixing her make up. From where I sat, he looked fairly calm and made no effort to strangle her as I would have in his position. Every now and then he'd say a few words and she would nod her pretty little head smiling. Within ten minutes or so he was walking towards my table.

"So what did she say?" I asked as he plopped onto the seat across from me. "What did you say back?"

He didn't look at me, and only reached to grab his milk and unfold the lid. Slowly he brought the beverage to his lips and let the creamy contents pour into his mouth as I waited for a reply. He placed the milk back, took his fork from the side of his bowl and finally looked up at me to speak, "She said she found someone new."

I pressed for more. "And? What did you say ba-"

"I said I had found someone also."

"Yeah." I mocked. "More like, you knew someone your entire life who agreed to _act _like someone you love." I took a swig of my orange juice and continued my interrogation, "What did she say to that?"

Tai carefully stabbed a noodle drowned in cheese and lifted it to his mouth. "Well," he said, "She asked me who it was and I said…" He placed the noodle in his mouth, chewed and swallowed. "…wait till the prom next week. I'll see that man whore of yours, and you'll see…"

"Y_our _whore?"

"Nope." He said. "I told her that she'd see the girl of my dreams. The girl she could and would never be."

"Wow!" I laughed, "Do we have our work cut out for us, or what?! Me, be the girl of your dreams? There isn't a makeover on the planet that can work that kind of magic."

He smiled. "I know someone who can help."

"Who?" I asked.

"Oh, I have my connections." He said leaning forward. "Don't you worry. By prom night, you won't even recognize your own reflection. _I_ may not even recognize you."

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Thanks for reading. If you think it sucked crap, I would most definitely agree with you. However, if you enjoyed it, the next chapter will be coming soon. For some of you, it might even be here already. Thanx again. Review if you like, I would appreciate it.


	3. Prom shopping! …is definitely not for to...

***TOM BOY (A boy's best friend)***

This is the same old shit everyone is sort of required to write. Yup, you guessed it. My plot, my story, but NOT my characters. Please enjoy, and if you don' t, I don't blame you cuz' I think it sucks too. Oh, and by the way….THANK YOU FOR WAITING! I move like a old woman with arthritis when I write, so forgive me for taking so long to post this chapter. Enjoy it if you can.

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CH 2: Prom shopping! …is definitely _not_ for tomboys.

The Saturday of that same week, I found myself at Tai's house again. Unlike the other days when I'd come to study, I had no idea why Tai had called me this time and was sitting in his living room waiting for something to happen. Already ten minutes had passed and I just noticed, for the first time, what a cozy room it was. There was the couch I was sitting on, a easy chair to my right, pictures of Tai and his younger sister, Kari, and a little coffee table with a handmade ceramic bowl of candy. I helped myself to a strawberry (flavored) one before Tai walked in, and made room for him on the couch.

"Sora," He said smiling. "I'm guessing that you have absolutely no idea why I asked you to come you to come here today."

"Nope, none, not a clue." He was only wearing a pair of Christmas boxers and a white tang top, so I gave him a strange look.

"Well then, I'll tell you. You're here to get a make over."

I frowned. "Um…isn't it a little soon for that?" I asked. "The dance is a week away."

"Funny, I thought so too, but your make up artist has a different opinion." He grabbed a handful of candies from the bowl and shoved them in his mouth." Being that this person _is _the "_make-over _person", and not me, I'm assuming they know what they're talking about. Hopefully it's true."

I couldn't help but laugh when he looked at me, his cheeks expanded by the massive volume of candy. Being the goof that he was, he smiled and one of them slipped out onto the floor. "Disgusting!" I laughed. "A fugitive!" He picked it up, wiped it with his shirt and just popped it back in his mouth. I cringed and moved a little further away from his end of the couch.

"So," He said, voice muffled by the contents of his mouth. "ou…wannah….me urm?"

"What?" I said frowning. He chewed and crunched a bit before answering. After swallowing some he managed to say words which were some what clear.

"You wanna meet' em?"

"The woman giving me the make over, you mean?"

"Yeah."

I looked around the room, out the window, and through the door which led into the hallway to see if I could find her. I didn't see anyone, and I knew Tai would bring most of his female acquaintances somewhere within that vicinity. "Where is she?" I asked.

"Oh, um…. Wait a moment, will ya?" He jumped up and ran upstairs tripping once, before he got to the top. By the time he came back down I had found my way to the shelf of pictures, and was looking at one I especially liked. It was one of Tai, Kari and me at the beach. Tai and I were only about three or four, he was laying on the sand smiling while Kari and I sat on his back in triumph.

"I like that one." Tai's voice said from behind me. He slung an arm around my shoulder, chuckling as he brought the picture to his face. "Even though I'm a human sofa, it seems like I'm having the time of my life being it." 

I laughed and turned to look at him. "Apparently you still like being furniture, since you're always on the bottom in wrestling matches." 

"Oh yeah?" He said in a mocking tone. "Well, you were a lot lighter then, so don't even think about sitting on me now. I guarantee that neither you nor I would be smiling like _I_ am in that picture, if you do."

"Wanna find out?!" I laughed and was about to push him to the ground when I heard a cough from the hall. "Is that her?" I asked and Tai looked to the door giving a smirk.

"Yeah, it is. Hey, what are you waiting for, man? Come in here!" 

I looked at the entrance to the living room expecting to see a girl my age or older; short skirt, tube top, the works. However, to my surprise, _he_ was not a girl at all. _He_ was a seventeen year old boy who was tall, lean, and gorgeous to say the least. As he entered the living room I could not help but notice his blond hair which spiked out in just the right places, swimming pools of blue for eyes, thin smirking lips, and slim physique of a swimmer. "Hey," He said in a smooth voice, "The names Matt. And you must be, ….Sora?"

"Yeah." I said, not knowing how to act in front of such a sophisticated male. I watched as he cooly ran two fingers through the spiky locks in front of his eyes, smirked, and leaned up against the couch like one of those hot motorcycle riders in the fifties. I gulped, hoping that he wouldn't notice me shaking inside, and looked around the room for something else to be interested in. I ended up staring at a bush outside Tai's house (A very interesting bush, I might add.)

Tai was not phased by the visitor. He looked at me, looked at Matt, and burst out laughing, probably at my nervousness. "Well don't just stand there, guys, we got work to do!" He chuckled receiving a glare from me. "What?" He snorted. I gritted my teeth. "Okay, I'm sorry, calm down." He went over to Matt and gave him a handful of money. "Alright, man, don't waste it. I want results by next week."

"Don't worry, Tai." Matt said smiling. "You've made a wise decision." He looked at me and made a hand gesture to the front door. "Let's go." He said, and the next thing I knew, we were on our way to the mall.

At the mall, I discovered, for the first time, how much effort goes into shopping for the prom. I had never cared much for dances, and only went to one in seventh grade and another in the ninth grade because I was literally forced to. In both I only wore casual clothing when other girls adorned their bodies with flowing skirts and halter tops. Sadly, I wasn't even prepared for the shoe shopping alone, and was exhausted after only half an hour of searching. For ten minutes I sat limply in one of the chairs at the food court, trying to stay awake while Matt sipped calmly on a soda next to me.

"Are we almost done?" I asked, slipping further into my seat.

"Hardly." He answered. "We haven't even bought anything yet, aside from this drink." He took a few more sips and finished the beverage before my eyes. "How's about we give it two more hours? If you don't find a pair of shoes by then, I'd say fate was trying to give you a sign not to go to this prom."

"Sure you don't wanna just give up now?" I pleaded.

"I'm sure. C'mon, were wasting precious time." He grabbed my hand and pulled me towards the Nordstrom Rack Store.

As we approached the large shoe section, I lazily scanned the area for a pair of heels, and found nothing to my liking. They had everything, from pumps, to old fashioned heels, to….other types heels I never cared enough to learn the names of. "There's nothing here." I said and started walking back towards the door we just came through.

"Hold on a minute."

"Why?" I asked hunched over from lack of energy. " I didn't see anything."

"You weren't looking hard enough." Matt said and motioned me to come to the shoe rack he was inspecting.

I walked over to where he was and looked at the pair he was holding in his hands. The shoes I saw were nice, but I didn't see why they were so special. They were black, and had long straps attached to either side, which I guessed would criss-cross around my legs and tie in a knot about the middle of my calf. I took them into my own hands and discovered that they were actually a lot lighter then they appeared and were not too high or bulky for me to safely walk around in. "They're all right." I said, handing them back to Matt. "But, how do we know if they're going to match with the dress?"

"They will." He said and started moving towards the counter.

I jogged to catch up with him, "But how do you kn-"

"Because, Sora…." He stopped and smiled. "I already know what dress were going to buy."

"Well then." I said with a blush and remained quiet as I waited for him. I gave myself a mental note to act more "feminine" by trying to look like I actually knew what "prom shopping" was all about for the remainder of our trip.

The next store we entered was fancy and expensive looking. The windows had pictures of stick thin models wearing skin bearing outfits, their tan bodies covered from head to toe in an oily like substance that made them look very hot and sweaty. I cocked up an eyebrow at the distasteful display of cleavage and decided to follow Matt into the store against my will. Inside, Rack over rack of glittery, outlandish clothing carpeted the walls and floor of the store as the pulsing beat of pop-like techno music thumped in my ears. I quickly looked around for Matt, after realizing I had lost him, and found him making his way to a rack in the back of the store. By the time I caught up with him he had a piece of clothing in his hand and was already walking up to the counter to buy it.

"Hey!" I shouted over the loud music, "Are you going to buy that already?"

He looked at me with a calm expression and brought the hundred dollar bill to my face for me to see. "Yeah." he said. "Why do you ask?"

"Well," I shouted again. "I was thinking that maybe I should try it on first and see how it fits. What if it's too small or too big?"

"It won't be." He quipped and smiled at me before turning to the cash register. "I can tell what size you are just by looking at you."

He's good, I thought, and walked outside of the store to wait for him where the music wasn't as loud. My heart was thumping almost as loud as the bass drum in the speakers from embarrassment, and it felt like my cheeks were on fire. I prayed that we would return to Tai's house as soon as possible and whistled a nervous tune as I leaned against a wall and waited. 

When we finally returned to Tai's house, I knocked on the white wooden door, hoping that Tai would answer quickly, and almost knocked _him _over when I came in. "Whoa, Sora! Nice to see you too." Tai chuckled and stepped outside to talk with Matt before shutting the front door. 

In exhaustion, and collapsed on the plush pillows of the living room sofa and stared at the ceiling as I thought of all the embarrassing moments I had due to my tomboyish habits. If I ever go to a prom again, I thought with a grimace, I'll make sure to hire _someone else _do the shopping for me. Never again would I willingly agree to search the sea of stores for a dress I didn't have the "eye" to spot, and do it all with a handsome creature I was guaranteed to embarrass myself in front of! I looked outside to see Tai and Matt talking and my eye lids began to feel heavy. I managed to watch them until Matt started walking back to his car and heard the front door creak open, with the last bit of energy I had left. "Never again…" I sighed and quickly fell into a peaceful slumber as the soft pillows of the living room couch engulfed me.

Sometime later, I was rudely awakened by the weight of a heavy object thrown onto me. In a state of shock, my eyes flew open and I found myself staring into the eyes of a very happy Tai Kumiya. "Huh?" I said aloud in confusion, and realized that the very heavy object, was Tai sitting on my stomach.

"Time to get up, sleepy head!" He yelled and leaned back into the couch, arms supporting his head. "It's almost seven o' clock at night, and a busy girlfriend like you shouldn't be resting." I just huffed at him and told him to get off of me. He wouldn't budge, so I grabbed his leg and pulled him onto the floor, Christmas boxers and all.

"That wasn't very nice." He said, a little huffy, and popped his face up at the edge of the couch to frown at me. I just smiled and patted him on the head before looking out the window to see if it was dark outside yet. The sky was still blue, but a noticeable darkness was beginning to settle in on the trees and houses in the neighborhood. It was just around the time when most people come back home and start making food for supper, which reminded me of my home, where supper may or may not have been waiting for me.

"Tai?" I said looking down at him. He was now laying on the floor on his back, his arms behind his head once again. 

"What?" He said and turned his head to look up at me.

"What did you guys talk about out there after I came back from the mall?"

"Oh….you know…" He said smiling. "We talked about you and how completely hopeless you are." I threw the first pillow I could get my hands on at him and scowled. "Hey!" He said blocking it with one hand. "Don't be such a loser, I was just kidding! We just talked about getting you all fixed up on the night of the prom and what time we should meet his girlfriend to get a makeover. That's all bu-"

"His girlfriend?" I said out loud and mentally kicked myself for doing so.

Tai smirked at me and sat up. "What?" he said in a mocking tone. "Is someone a little jealous?" I frowned and turned away from him so I wouldn't punch him out, then and there. He patted my head and gave a little chuckle. "That's okay, Sora. I can see why you might be attracted to him. After all the time he spends sprucing himself up in the morning, I should hope at least a couple of girls would like him."

A bit calmed down, I turned to him and said flatly, "I do not like him like that, Tai." and crossed my arms in front of my chest.

He smirked. "Sure. Yeah. Uh-huh, really?"

My eyes turned into slits and I glared at him as the blood rushed to my face again. "I do not! So shut up or I'll…."

"Or you'll what?" He said, taunting me.

"Or I'll.…" I thought for a moment. "Well, I'll do something you won't like!" I said and reached back to grip the pillow behind my head without him seeing.

He just smiled at me thinking that I brought my arm back to support the back of my head. "So finally, you have a crush on someone," he said smirking and walked to the other side of the couch. "And of all people….one of _my _good friends!" I frowned at him and he laughed. "What a riot! Gee, I wonder what Matt will say when I tell him that my best friend, the tom boy, has got the hots for him, and was probably checking him out since the moment he walke-"

I quickly stood up on the couch. "Stuff it!" I screamed and struck him on the side of his face with the pillow immediately before wrestling him to the ground. In a matter of seconds, I had him pinned to the ground, holding his wrists on either side of his head as I sat on his stomach. He looked up at me in surprise for a while and suddenly smirked while he lay pinned beneath me. "What?" I asked sternly and didn't remove the pressure from his wrists.

"I told you not to _sit_ on me." He said with a sly look and flipped me onto the ground before I could react. _My_ wrists were now pinned above my head and I looked up at him with a frustrated expression. He just smiled and looked down at me. "I guess you like being furniture too." he said with a smirk and brought his face close to mine. "So. You want to know what Matt and I _actually_ talked about?" I nodded slowly as I looked into his soft caramel eyes. My pulse was quickening at the feel of his warm breath on my cheek, and I couldn't figure out why my body was reacting the way it was. 

************************************************************************

Thanks for reading. If you think it sucked crap, I would most definitely agree with you. However, if you enjoyed it, the next chapter will be coming soon. For some of you, it might even be here already. Thanx again. Review if you like, I would appreciate it. Have a nice life. 


	4. Stinky Pits and 'Mookie' Love?

**I'M JUST A TOM BOY (A boy's best friend)**

This is the same old shit everyone is sort of required to write. Yup, you guessed it. My plot, my story, but NOT my characters. FUCKLE me silly for I have sinned! There is no excuse for my lame-osity so just…enjoy if at all possible and…enjoy it some more.

**CH 3: Stinky Pits and…'Mookie' Love?**

Looking down at me, Tai flashed a cocky look. His chestnut bangs were falling into his eyes and his nose was about an inch from mine. As far as I could tell, he hadn't noticed the unusual reactions my body had endured and was just smiling proudly due to the fact that he managed to pin me to the floor.

Hn. Feels like my body's returning to normal. Good.

"Sora?" He whispered against my ear and I suppressed a shiver. "Why are you so silent?" His lips caught in a taunting grin and he lifted his face to look at mine as he slanted an eyebrow. Putting more weight on my stomach, he glanced up at the picture we were looking at before. "Forget what Matt said. You're comfortable to sit on. How would you like to be my new bed?"

"Shut up." I snapped, wanting to bend my knees inward at the word 'bed' and could only flinch thanks to the weight on my stomach. I glared up at him.

"Get off me." I breathed, looking around casually for a way to get out. There was no escape. I was uncomfortable. "I said…get…"

" I heard what you said," He smiled, tilting his head. He brought his face down again so his nose brushed lightly against mine and parted his smirking lips. "But that doesn't mean I have to listen to you, does it?"

"…just…" I grunted beneath him and he leaned more of his weight on me.

"Hey now, Sora. I'm not feeling the love." I could feel his breath again and didn't like the tingling in my gut. "Remember that little 'plan' we had? You are my girlfriend now and a real girlfriend wouldn't be so resistant to my charms, now would she?"

"Charms?" I frowned, twisting my wrists in his hands and I closed my eyes as his breath caressed my cheek. "Are you kidding?" I squirmed and felt the blood returning to my arms and legs.

He grinned, lips accidentally grazing my skin. "That's right. Charms."

At the feel of his touch my eyes widened and I realized how urgent my need was to get out from underneath him. "These charms you speak of,…" I began calmly and stopped struggling. I forced a half smile across my lips, "well…now that I think of it, …I can't resist them."

Bringing his head up as I knew he would, he looked down at me with a quizzical stare. "Yeah?" he coaxed, his voice heavy with doubt and cocked an eyebrow.

"You heard me…" His fingers loosed their hold as he stared in disbelief and I readied myself for the next maneuver. "All these years of denial and now…well. I can't pretend anymore. I give in."

"Um…Sora? You're scaring me. Can you stop because I…"

Gently, my fingers grasped what they could of his hands and I shot him a doting look. For a split second, I thought I saw a hint of pink stain his cheek and diminish almost as quickly as it appeared.

"I'm not joking." I replied coolly and didn't break my eye contact for a second to lead him on. Brow furrowed in confusion he twisted his lips and as I had hoped, lifted just the right amount of weight off of me to allow an escape.

Without a second thought, I drove my right knee into his back, eliciting a gasp from his lips. Deftly, I pushed myself off the floor to twist my body over his and bringing his hands above his head, his back hit the hard wood with a 'slap'. I curled my fingers tightly around his wrists, and left my waist hanging between his parted legs.

"Ah…man…" Tai groaned and I laughed as I swiftly transferred my weight to the right areas of his body to keep him down.

Crouched on all fours, I gradually settled myself on top of him, my body now pressed against his. "You're so stupid." I smirked as I looked down at him. "When I said I couldn't resist your charms, Tai…." He stared up at me, chest rising and falling with my own. "I meant, I can't resist charms that simply aren't there to begin with." His eyes narrowed and a chuckle escaped my lips.

"Sora, you assh-…"

I smiled. "Don't blame me for your ignorance. I thought a math genius like you would've seen through that plan but…I guess I'm not the only dumbass here ."

With a huff , he rolled his head back to stare up at the ceiling and lay still. "You, jerk…." He smirked down at me. "How was I supposed to know you were going to say something _that _strange? UN-FAIR, man."

"Yeah?" I scooted myself up the length of his body till my face hovered over his and auburn bangs tumbled into my vision. "Well. Sorry if you thought you had gained yet another member in your fan club. You know I like my guys, Tai."

"Oh really? How?" He spat.

I smirked. " I like my guys to….be guys. Not pussies like you."

"Pussies!" He shouted and I kept my weight on him, laughing.

"That's right. But as far as friends go…." I slanted an eyebrow. "I don't mind having a wimp like you."

"That's it, asshole!" he shouted and I jumped off of him in a panic, smiling as I scrambled out of the living room and up the stairs.

In his room, we wrestled around for a while until I got tired and let him win. Against my better judgment I led him to the softest area of the room, the bed, where I allowed him to pin me to the sheets and catch his breath as I looked up at him knowingly. My head was resting diagonally on his pillow as he hovered above me, his hands on either side of my head. Too tired to hold himself up he nearly collapsed on me before I pushed him towards the wall and he rolled onto the sheets, pressed against my side.

"Tai?" I whispered finally, after several minutes of heavy breathing and silence.

He eventually caught his breath. "Yes,…jerk?" he managed to reply and brought his arms up to rest his wrists on his forehead.

"I think I should go home. I told my mom I'd be home by six and its…" I glanced over at the clock on his bed table. "eight thirty." My eyes went wide. "Holy crap! EIGHT THIRTY!"

He let a chuckle roll off his parted lips. "Don't worry about it. I forgot to tell you. Your mom called while you were asleep and asked if you could stay here for tonight." Judging by the movement in the mattress I felt him turn his head in my direction. "I told her it was fine with me. She's got to work late or….something."

" Wait." I shifted my head to look at him. "You didn't ask your mom if it was okay with her? What if she says n…?"

"Are you kidding!" he grinned somewhat furrowing his brow. "Don't be stupid, Sora. You're more like a sister to me then Kari is! You think my mom's going to deny her own surrogate daughter of a place to sleep? This is like your second home, man."

"Sorry. Stupid me and my manners." I smirked and gave him a once-over look. My nose lifted towards to ceiling and caught a foul aroma coming from the bed. "Aw, Tai!" I wheezed, flaring a nostril. "Do you smell that? WHooy! You stink!"

Frowning, he bent his head to sniff his armpits and looked up with a sour expression. "No, I don't!" He leaned forward before I could stop him, and pressed his nose against my side.

"Stop!" I gasped and pushed my palm against his face to shove the back of his head lightly into the wall.

Opening his eyes with a shake of his head, he curled his lip and gave me a disgusted look. "It's YOU, man. Not me." My eyes widened with anger and I quickly sniffed my own armpits. Damnit. Must have forgot to apply the deodorant this morning. I hate it when I'm wrong.

"Psh! I know it's you, Tai." I sneered, trying to play it cool. "If it was me I would have noticed it earlier." Slowly I sat up in an effort to conceal my smell and looked back at him with an angry expression. "I am feeling kind of gross though. Can I take a shower?"

He laughed and flashed a smirk. "You know you smell, don't you?" His head fell back on the pillow as his arms folded behind his head. He brought his face down to look at me and cocked up an eyebrow. "Why don't you just admit it? I stuck my nose in your pits, man. I know it's you."

"Shut up!" I shouted defensively. "It's not me…it's…..my shirt. I…had nothing clean to wear…today." I bit my lip and watched in annoyance as he chuckled. "What? Shut up! It's not funny, dumbass."

"Yes it is." He replied, smiling cutely and looking at his face, I could only manage a soft frown as I headed for the bathroom.

Running a hand through my disheveled auburn locks I turned to face him before putting a hand on the bathroom door. "I know this door doesn't lock so don't forget I'm in here and just walk in, okay?" He was still smiling at me and chuckled before waving a hand.

"I know. I know. Just get in there already so I can call the department of health. Maybe they'll be able to figure out what makes you smell so bad all the time."

I glared. "Oh….just…shut up." My body entered the bathroom as I spun around to face him and shot him a death glare before slamming the door shut.

Twenty minutes later, I emerged from the shower and realized that I hadn't asked Tai for a towel or a set of clean clothes. "Great." I cursed under my breath and began opening and closing cupboards in the small tiled room. All I found at the end of my search was a sponge, a cupboard full of crusty soccer gear, and Tai's current towel hanging sloppily on the counter. Surrounding the piece of terry cloth were empty bottles of shampoo and conditioner, along with a collection of every men's spray deodorant ever invented. I cringed. Tai's naked body had touched that towel and so had his….ew. I ventured over to give the lumpy material a sniff and found that it smelled rather good. A rich masculine scent filled my nose and reminded me of pine trees, old spice, and nutmeg. Hn. Tai must smell like Christmas.

"I can't use…this." I groaned to myself and glanced at the dried up sponge before tossing it over my shoulder and grabbing the towel. Briskly gliding the material along the curves of my body, I convinced myself that smelling like Tai was a much better option then walking in front of him buck naked. Surrogate sister or not, I didn't think our relationship was ready for that kind of exposure.

The towel securely wrapped around me, I nudged the door open to ask Tai to bring me some clothes. To my surprise, he was already fast asleep on the bed and didn't even flinch when I called out his name. "Fucking idiot." I swore and looked around the room in thought. When my gaze caught site of his dresser I slipped past the door frame and gently crept across the room to find something to wear. With both hands on the knobs of the first drawer, I pulled and nothing happened. "Shit. It's stuck." I whispered and gave the next drawer a tug to find that it was stuck too. After trying all the drawers I discovered that the only one that wasn't stuck was the one with his socks and I definitely wasn't about to make an outfit out of that. I poked around in his closet, slightly panicked, and finally found an unwashed soccer shirt that reeked of his masculine pine tree smell and a pair of boxers that smelled the same. Guess I'll have to use my old underwear. Gross. I slid back into the bathroom and put on my misfit sleep wear with a frown.

Hours later, after falling asleep on the floor, I woke up to the sound of a toilet being flushed. Still half asleep, my eyelids barely lifted for a second before I grabbed the towel at my waist and pulled it over my shoulders for warmth. Wait a minute. This is no towel. It's soft and plush and…hey….

Looking around I realized that I was no longer on the floor and was now lying comfortably in Tai's bed. Wait, but that means…oh no. I turned to the space between me and the wall and found nothing but a pile of unfolded clothes. No Tai. Hn. Peering down at the floor I saw a futon mattress with a thin blanket crumpled on top and put two and two together to figure out what had happened.

Tai must have saw me sleeping on the floor and put me in his bed.

Aw...how sweet, but….where the hell was he now?

Just then, a creak came from the bathroom door and a stream of light poured into the room. With a click, everything went dark again and I could only make out the faint silhouette of my friend walking slowly to his futon. Convinced that all was right with the world, I scooted up to the wall nuzzling his rumpled laundry and snuggled further under his comforter. When I was just about to go to sleep I felt the covers being lifted from the other end of the bed and something warm weighing down the opposite side of the mattress. Too curious to ignore the disturbance, I shifted my body to see the intruder and was face to face with…you guessed it.

Tai.

"What are you doing, man?" I wheezed and waited as he lay, eyes closed, ignoring me. Fucking hell! He can't be asleep already. I poked him in the shoulder with a finger, and watched his face as he exhaled gently. "Tai!" I said a little louder and gave up after three more tries and a couple more pokes to the chest. Had he somehow taught himself to walk to the toilet in his sleep? I always knew he was odd, but….this?

Too embarrassed to wake him up, I tried climbing over him and only made it halfway. One leg over his body, I scarcely pressed my inner right thigh against his stomach, when he hooked his free arm under mine and pushed me back into the mattress with a groan. My right leg was now trapped beneath his stomach and I had my left leg resting on his rib cage in a sort of sideways scissor position. Cozy between my thighs, his arm wrapped snuggly around my waist, a possessive hand faintly grasping the back of my shirt.

"Shit!" I hissed and thought for a minute as I lay my free arm in the crook between his neck and shoulder. And I thought being naked without a towel was a predicament! Psh! Mere child's play…

Aware that waking him up was not an option, I aimed to simply get my right leg out from under him and crawl off the foot of the bed. Gradually, I freed my numbed limb, and got it to the ankle when he slid his lower half over my thigh and between my legs. His abdomen was now leaning his weight on my hips and his head was resting on my shoulder.

"Holy fuck!" I choked and adjusted my body so I could breath.

"Moo..kie." His sleepy voice mumbled into my ear and I flinched in surprise. Did he just say…?

"…mookie…"

Yeah. He just said mookie.

"I'm not um…mookie, Tai." I whispered and turned my head slightly. "It's me…Sora." He groaned into my neck.

"Sora…."

"That's right! Now please let me…" I gently pushed against his shoulder with my left hand and almost got him to lay sideways when he shrugged out of my grasp. Pulling my body to his chest, he cradled my head to his cheek and tangled his fingers in my hair. Double shit.

"….Mookie,…pleas don…lev…me." His lips whispered against my skin and immediately, I felt my face flush with heat. Breathing softly, he drew out a quiet moan of contentment and nuzzled even closer. "mookie…" he repeated cutely.

Now in a desperate struggle, I pushed against his chest, and began to panic when I realized there was no way out.

"You better hope your mom doesn't walk in tomorrow." I hissed and gave his shoulder a final shove before stopping to think.

As I grumbled in his sturdy hold, his fingers suddenly began to stroke my hair and gently massage the back of my head. Shocked at first, a pleasant warmth slowly spread through my chest like after drinking a cup of hot chocolate and I grew limp in his protective embrace. "No. Can't…sleep…" I slurred and I fought to keep my eyelids open as my limbs grew heavier and heavier. Quickly, I found myself unable to push him away and was mumbling nonsensically by the time I finally let my eyes close.

A sigh away from dreamland, I felt his lips on my tingling cheek and groaned. "I love you, mookie…" he breathed in a dreamlike state and pressed his face to mine to place an affectionate kiss on my cheek.

"me…too…" I mumbled and snuggled against him with a blissful sigh.


End file.
